Schoolgirl left with horrific burns after lice shampoo caught fire training to be counsellor

Aleema Ali, now 21, was just 12 years old when her whole body went up in flames - when she walked passed a lit hob with the flammable treatment on her hair.

The university student, from Bradford, spent six weeks in a coma, and nine months in hospital, before having to learn to walk, talk and eat again.

She is now training to be a counsellor, to help others, and said that her traumatic experience has helped her to become more resilient.

Aleema said: “When my hair caught fire, my mum just started screaming. I didn’t know what was going on at first, as it was just my hair that was on fire, so I didn’t feel any pain.

“Then I saw my reflection in the window, and stood frozen in shock. The flames spread to my scalp, and I was hit with an intense pain.

“When the paramedic lay me down in the ambulance I screamed at him to put me to sleep because I couldn’t cope with the pain.

“The next thing I remember is waking up six weeks later. My parents told me not to look in the mirror, as I looked so different.

“They really helped me to prepare, so when I finally looked at my reflection, it wasn’t that hard, as I’d already imagined the worst. I felt like I was back to being a baby, as I had to learn to walk, talk and feed myself again.

“Nine years on, I still have bad days, when every stares at me in the street it’s really hard, but I’m getting better at coping. My accident has made me and my family so much more resilient, and open minded.”

When Aleema was 12 years old, in December 2016, she returned home from boarding school for the Christmas break and noticed she had picked up nits.

Her mother applied Full Marks Solution, a medicated shampoo to kill the lice, and after the treatment had been applied, Aleema headed to the bin, to throw the package away.

However, as she walked past the lit hob in the kitchen, her hair caught fire, as the medicine was extremely flammable.

At first Aleema didn’t realise what was happening but after her mother began to scream, she looked in the mirror, and saw that her hair was engulfed in flames.

Shocked, Aleema watched as the flames spread up the length of her hair, and onto her scalp, causing her to be hit with an intense pain.

Hearing the commotion, Aleema’s older sister, who was at the time eight months pregnant, came downstairs and dragged Aleema outside.

Aleema passed out for around 30 seconds due to the pain, before her quick-thinking sister grabbed a passing delivery man’s jacket and used it to pat out the flames.

Paramedics swiftly arrived, and carried Aleema into an ambulance, whilst she screamed in pain, and asked them to put her to sleep.

The accident left her with burns over half of her body, and she lost seven fingers and had to have surgeries every day when during her time in hospital.

When Aleema finally woke up from the coma, her family urged her not to look in the mirror, as the accident had left her with horrific scarring on her face, but curious, she finally plucked up the courage to look at her reflection in March 2017, three months after the accident.

She had to learn to walk, talk and eat again, leaving her feeling like she had gone back to being a “baby.”

Aleema spent nine months in hospital, and when she returned home, in August 2017, still had nurses tending to her six hours a day.

She was homeschooled for a year, before joining a new school in September 2018.

“It was so hard joining a new school when I looked so different to everyone else”, she said.

Nine years on, Aleema is now at university, where she is studying to be a counsellor, so that she can help others who have suffered from similar traumatic experiences.

She is still having surgeries and recently had skin taken from her groin to make ear flaps, so that she can wear earrings.

She also shares her story online, on @aleemaxali, and said that although she got cruel comments at first, people are now used to seeing her and other burns survivors online.

She still struggles with many day-to-day tasks, such as tying up her hair, or opening jars, but is improving every day.